OSP Central - Company Watch

Ekinops and Extreme Networks, which have worked together since late 2011 to offer a rich combination of switching, optical transport, and end-to-end integrated management solutions to carriers, announced network provider PEG Bandwidth as a new joint customer.

PEG Bandwidth, a leading national provider of 4G mobile backhaul infrastructure services for carriers, offers cell site backhaul services, metro transport solutions, and long-haul transport services to other carriers. Ekinops is providing the optical transport equipment for PEG Bandwidth, along with Ethernet switches and 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) mobile backhaul switches from Extreme Networks.

PEG Bandwidth will leverage a next-generation 4G network infrastructure as it continues to roll out and support new 4G and LTE network construction for national Tier 1 carrier customers.

Provided to PEG Bandwidth as an integrated solution, the key equipment involved in the contract includes the Ekinops 360 optical transport platform, which offers DWDM and CWDM on a single platform for metro, regional, and long-haul applications. With its unique T-Chip technology, the Ekinops 360 leverages Ekinops' ability to provide many capabilities of transport systems on a single programmable chip.

PEG Bandwidth selected 4G solutions from Ekinops and Extreme Networks to meet its goal in building a next-generation LTE backhaul network. The companies provide a compelling combination of performance and value, due to their capabilities to cost-effectively provide ultra-low latency Ethernet switching, with the ability to provide less than 1 microsecond latency for packet delivery through the switch with their aggregation and mobile backhaul switch platforms.

Specifically, Ekinops is supplying PEG Bandwidth with Extreme Networks' Summit® X670 10GbE stackable switches and its E4G 200 Mobile Backhaul routers. The Summit series switches provide PEG Bandwidth with industry leading flexibility and bandwidth, scaling from as little as 24 Gbps to more than a terabit, with a flexible selection of interfaces (copper or fiber, 10/100/100 to 40 Gbps). Furthermore, Extreme Networks Ethernet solutions offer MPLS and routing functionality, enabling service providers to use the same devices for a broad range of applications like data center switching, business services, triple-play, and wireless backhaul.

Extreme Networks' E4G-200 mobile backhaul switch offers telco features, including synchronous Gigabit Ethernet backhaul to support multiple generations of mobile services. The E4G-200 can deliver mobile data services faster than 3G networks, due to software support of the 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP), ultra-dense Gigabit ports, and highly scalable aggregation capabilities.

The integrated Ekinops-Extreme Networks offering, with its focus on flexibility, scalability, and operational simplicity, offers an end-to-end backhaul solution from the tower to the metro and core. Its capabilities allow a provider to use the same equipment for a variety of other applications as well, such as residential triple play, business services, data center, disaster recovery, and internal IT needs.

Founded in early 2009, PEG Bandwidth is focused on customizing cell site backhaul networks for wireless carriers, providing high-capacity fiber-based connections from the edge of the wireless carrier's network back to the existing geographic core fiber infrastructure. Through broad partnerships with fiber providers, cable companies, CLECs and others, PEG can aggregate backhaul traffic across multiple networks, covering a larger percentage of an individual market, and provide a seamless, end-to-end solution to its wireless carrier customers. PEG currently has offices in the Dallas, St. Louis and Philadelphia metropolitan areas.

For more information, visit www.pegbandwidth.com.

For more information, visit Ekinops at www.ekinops.net.